Links for Good Deals

Okay, my friend Kristin (who I've had the privilege of talking with more in the last 2 months than 2 years- thank goodness for email and blogs!!:) reminded me that I haven't had a new post in a while. Hmmm, so I thought I better get busy if someone is actually reading my blog!!! Thanks for the motivation Kristin! :) (See the link to her blog on my page- she is adopting a beautiful little girl with down syndrome, named Nadia).

Funny, I'm having a bit of writer's block even though I have lots to write about- good grocery deals this week, our hot water heater has a leake (with our house on the market!!), Emma's 2 hour IEP meeting yesterday and the lack of classes in Wake Co for her needs, the beautiful weekend weather ahead, my parent's 34th wedding anniversary this weekend, baseball season beginning, the lockdown at Drew's school yesterday b/c someone brough a gun (that turned out to be a bb gun) to school, the endless paperwork for the CAP supports waiver Emma has been granted (almost 7 years of waiting and praying for this) etc, etc, etc. Wow, my mind is racing which is probably why I haven't blogged in a while!

So which topic should I pick? Which one will most people care about?? Probably couponing because it seems everyone is interested in that these days. Yep, I'll go with that one this time. So I am going to cheat and just paste some links to websites for good grocery deals this week.

Harris Teeter-

Super Doubles (through Feb 23rd)- Coupons double up to $1.98 in value. Example- coupon for $1.50 will double to $3.00 off. Here's the link for the "good deals":

http://www.wral.com/5onyourside/smartshopper/blogpost/7058806/

Lowes, Food Lion and Kroger-

http://www.wral.com/5onyourside/smartshopper/blogpost/7060350/

I plan on taking time to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend. Hopefully we will have some showings on our house! Happy shopping!

Til next time...

Just from the heart...a reminder of how quickly life can change

I had all these ideas over the weekend of different topics to blog about. I even emailed them to myself so I wouldn't forget! However, this morning I have such a heavy heart for one family and everything else seems so insignificant, so how could I be selfish enough to write about anything other than this?



I do not actually know this family (The Laskowski's) personally, but through a former co-worker. It is her brother and his wife and children. This family has already suffered the terrible loss of their first child who only lived to be 100 days old. Now their second son, Jackson almost 3 years old, has just been diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma (cancer of the liver) after a trip to urgent care on 1/24/10 for constipation and swelling in the belly area. Unfortunately the cancer has also spread into Jackson's lungs. It is Stage IV and surgery is not an option at this time because the tumor is so large. They have begun chemotherapy. Please be in prayer daily for this family and for little Jackson as they fight this battle that must seem unthinkable. They do have a caring bridge site set up and to join and follow the updates, please visit: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jacksonlaskowski .



This morning, I read the updates from the weekend on little Jackson. All I could think of is how life can change so quickly. Many of us have experienced a tragedy of some sort in our lives and most of the time we are never prepared for such an event. In fact, I think it is fair to say that with each tragedy we have gone through- a little piece of ourselves has been taken away with each suffering. Maybe that piece was replaced with something new or different, but each time you are not the exact person you were before because of the circumstances that help us to build strength and pick up the pieces to start over. There are so many questions that typically unfold during these times. I personally struggle daily with accepting loss and understanding why as humans we have to go through anything bad when life seems hard enough as it is. The interesting thing about this weakness of mine, is that I have actually suffered a small amount of loss (specifically death) in my lifetime comparatively speaking, but the thought of it consumes me almost daily. ..the fear of losing someone close to me or something bad happening to my husband, children or family and friends. "Loss" is a loaded work. It doesn't always have to mean death- it can include the loss of a friend, relationship, marriage, job, finances, control or anything in your life. Of course, when I am searching for a word of understanding or encouragement, I immediately seek Bible verses that seem appropriate to the situation. I hope the following verses help you with any suffering, confusion or anguish you may have at this time or any loss you have experienced. I also encourage you all to take the time to stop and enjoy your blessings because there is never a promise of tomorrow for any of us. I know it's so hard with work, church, kids, homework, sporting activities and other committments to take the time to stop and enjoy the moment...but at least try....give your loved ones that extra phone call today or give your spouse/child and extra hug and "I love you" and tell your friends how important and meaningful they are to your lives. You (and they) will be grateful that you took the time to remember and show them you are not to busy to appreciate and realize how short life can be...and how important it is to cherish each moment...the good, the bad and the ugly ones. Feel free to leave a comment at the end of the post!



Verses:



Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through... Instead, be very glad-for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering...
~ 1 Peter 4:12-13 A, NLT



We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
~ Hebrews 13:8, NLT



Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.
~ Philippians 4:6, NLT



For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
~ 2 Corinthians 4:17, NLT



When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
~ Isaiah 43:2, NLT



... Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ... And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love.
~ Romans 8:35, 38, NLT



We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
~ James 5:11, NLT



Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.
~ Hebrews 2:18, NLT

Sledding, Strep and a Showing!

Love this expression!



Love this one more though!

What a crazy weekend/week! The snow was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed being forced to stay in the house with the family and kids had a blast!


Emma really loved sledding, as I thought she would. She's a little dare devil in some ways..which can be good and bad. Drew asked me several times Friday night if I would be going out with him on Saturday. How could I say no to that? I stopped dead in my tracks and took time to remember this moment since he is growing up so fast. There may not be many more years of him asking "Mom, will you sled with me?" So with that gentle reminder in my head...I (we all)ventured out 3 times Saturday and 2 times Sunday with him. We started out in the driveway and had an awesome ski tube that my mom gave Drew a few years ago. I laid on my stomach and Drew would run and jump on me. This 31 year old body handled it well- surprisingly! It was a lot of fun and my inner child surfaced.


Later Saturday night, I stayed behind with Emma who was a frozen popsicle and Jon took Drew to the park behind our house where they found a great hill for sledding. The only problem....at the bottom of the hill was a fence that surrounded the track. Apparently my crazy husband (also somewhat of a daredevil) went sailing down the hill at record speed (think Eddie in Christmas Vacation moment here) and went right under the fence!! It ripped his coat to shreds and three sections of railing on the fence fell off. Jon spent the rest of the time putting the fence back togther, in the dark, without any tools! Thank goodness he was okay. It looked like his coat had been attacked by Wolverine. Great story to tell, but very thankful he was okay. The hill turned out to be a great sledding opportunity and everyone else in the neighborhood discovered that by the next day too!

On Sunday, Jon's dad came over for a bit and brought my neice and nephew with him. Off to the sledding hill we went. More fun sledding! Jon's dad even went for a spin...and yes we did this at our own risk because almost everyone slammed into the fence at least once. We finally posted one adult at the top of the hill and one at the bottom to catch the kids! Saturday nght my parents came over and Jon, Drew and my dad went back out for some more fun. Drew got to see his papa and grandpa both sledding and in the same day! Cool experience!


The fun came to a hault by Sunday evening when Emma came down with a very high fever. She became quite sick in a rapid amount of time. She told me her mouth hurt which meant she had strep. She had her tonsils taken out a year and a half ago so this hasn't been much of an issue- praise the Lord! Sunday night was a very longggg night as she was up almost the entire night. We took her to the doctor Monday am and yep...positive for strep! She was able to get an antiobiotc shot which helped her recover within hours. Love those shots...hate them for Emma, but love them for recovery. :)

Now to my list- I made a list last week of things I wanted to accomplish while snowed in (see previous post). Of course I didn't get to all of them but I didn't tackle some. I played in the snow, did laundry, watched movies, deleted and added pictures, cooked yummy meals, did our taxes and that was it from my list. I do feel ashamed because we didn't get to some of the more important ones like writing a letter to a soldier and taking goodies to the firestation. Emma becoming sick did sidetrack us for 2 days!


On a side note, we were bummed because it was the first official weekend of having our house on the market- and it snowed! How mean! I know now that God was giving us the break we desperately needed after all our weeks of endless work preparing our house for sale. So, thank you God for the days you gave us to stand in awe of your beauty! Fast forward to last night---we had our first showing! We haven't heard anything about it yet but I'm just happy to know someone was interested enough to come out, in the dark, on a weeknight to see it. Please pray for a quick sell for us!


The pictures above---A friend of mine asked me to send some to her so she could play with her new photo editing software-which is why these look so good. I love them! Thanks again Leslie! More informal pics to come soon. Happy almost Friday everyone!